Metal beam.



F. s. BARKS.

METAL BEAM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 6. i916.

Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

mam/ fZm/f j. Bdf/(j UNITED STATES PATEN OFFICE.

FRANK S. BARKS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

METAL BEAM.

Specification of Letters Patent. I Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

- Application filed May 6, 1916. Serial No. 95,798.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK S. BARKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Metal Beams, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such 'as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to.

. make and 'use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to a rolled metal beam, the principal object of my invention being to provide a beam which can be easily manufactured by the rolling process and which is shaped and flanged so as to render it particularly applicable for use as a draft sill or arm and for supporting the usual draft rigging which is associated with car underframes. 7

A further object of my invention is to provide a'rolled metal beam with flanges, so arranged as to readily accommodate underframe and draft rigging parts which are usually associated with the draft sills of cars, and further to provide a one-piece beam, parts of which are relatively disposed 'tion of a beam of my improved construction, the body of said beam belng shown 1nsection.

Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 are cross sectional views of modified forms of the beam.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view-of a modified form of the beam, wherein certain of.

the flanges are separately formed and secured to the body of the beam by rivets or like fastening devices.

Referring by numerals to the form of beam illustrated in Fig. 1, 10 designates the web or body of the beam, the same being. of

any desired width, length and thickness, said web being bent as designated by 11 at a point near its center so that approximately half of said web or the portion designated by 10 is offset with respect to and occupies a plane to one side of and parallel with the plane occupied by, the opposite portion 10,

Formed integral with the edge of web portion 10 is an outwardly projecting base flange 12 and formed integral vwith said web portion near the central bend 11 is an outwardly projecting flange 13, the same extending in the. same direction as the flange 12 and being arranged parallel therewith.

Formed integral with and projecting outwardly from the edge of the portion 10 is a horizontally disposed flange 14, the same projecting in a direction opposite to that in which the flanges 12 and 13 project and formed integral with said portion 10 near the central bend 11 is a flange 15, the same pro ectlng outwardly in the same direction with flange 14 and being arranged parallel therewith By this construction, it will be seen that I have provided a beam which is composed of a web having off-set portions, each of which latter is provided with a pair of flanges, the same projecting in opposite directions and being disposed approximately at right angles to the planes occupied by the off-setportions of the web. i

This construction produces in effect a pair of channels, the webs of which are alrranged parallel with each other and the adjacent corners being connected by an integral web portion.

A beam so constructed can be rolled in any desired and convenient length and after being properly formed, the beam can be cut into sections suitable for use as draft sills.

When a pair of the beams are utilized as draft sills, the beams are arranged with the webs 10 vertically disposed, with the flanges 14 and 15 of the two beams projecting toward each other and toward the center line of the car, and with the flanges 12 and 13 of said beams projecting outwardly away from the center line of the car. When so arranged, the upper portions 10 of the webs lie immediately against the inner faces ofthe center sills of the car underframe, the space between which center sills v is fixed by\ M. C. B. practice, and the distance between the lower portions 10 of the vertical webs meets the MIC. B. requirements for draft rigging space. u

The form of beam illustrated in Fig. 2 comprises a web having off-set'portions 16 and 17 ,said portion 16 being prov ded with a pair of integral outwardly projecting flanges 18 and the portion 17 being provided at its outer edge with a flange 19 which is oppositely disposed with respect to the flanges 18.

In the form of beam illustrated in Fig. 3, the web is composed of a pair of off-set portions 20 and 21, the bend or shoulder 22 between said portions being very abrupt and occupying a plane substantially at right angles to the planes occupied by the portions 20 and 21. In this form, the portion 20 is provided with outwardly projecting parallel flanges 23, the inner one of which occupies substantially the same plane with the bend or shoulder 22 between the portions 20 and 21.

Portion 21 is provided at its outer edge with a flange 24 which is oppositely disposed with respect to the flanges 23.

In the form of beam illustrated in Fig. 4 which is very similar in structure to the form illustrated in Fig. 3, the web portion 21 is provided with an integral outwardly projecting flange 25, the same occupying a plane parallel with and projecting in the same direction as the flange 24.

In the modified form illustrated in Fig. 5, the web 26 of the beam is preferably straight or without the central bend and projecting outwardly from the lower half of said web'is a pair of parallel flanges 27 and projecting in the opposite direction from the upper half of said web is a pair of parallel flanges 28.

In the modified form illustrated in Fig. 6, the web 29 of the beam is formed from a heavy sheet or plate of metal, bent near its center as designated by 30 to form off-set portions and the edge of one portion is bent so as to provide a flange 31 which projects outwardly substantially at right angles to said web and the opposite edge of the web being bent to form a flange 32 whichprojects outwardly from the web and in a direction opposite to that in which the flange 31 projects.

Rigidly fixed in any suitable manner to the off-set portions of the web and at points near the central bend 30 are angles 33, the outwardly projecting legs or flanges of which occupy planes substantially parallel with the planes occupied by the flanges 31 and 32.

In some instances it may be found desirable to reinforce one or both edges of the web of the beam with bulbs as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 5.

Beams of my improved construction can be readily manufactured, can be tooled and machined much easier and with less expense than castings and by virtue of their peculiar shape and the arrangement 4 of their flanges, said beams are particularly desirable for use as draft arms for railway car underframes.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a commercially rolled metal draft sill having the same cross sectional areathroughout its length and comprising a web which is bent near its transverse center to. form offset portions Which occupy substantially parallel planes, a marginal flange projecting from the edge of one of the offset portions of said web, and a pair of flanges projecting from the other offset portion of said web, said pair of flanges being arranged on the opposite side of the web from the first mentioned flange with one of the flanges of said pair adjacent to the margin of the web and the other flange adjacent to the central portion of the web, all of which flanges occupy planes substantially at right angles to the planes occupied by the offset portions of the web. i

2. As a. new article of manufacture, a commercially rolled metal draft sill having the same cross sectional area throughout its length and comprising a web which is bent near its transverse center to form ofl'set portions which occupy substantially parallel planes, a pair of flanges projecting from each offset portion of the web, one flange of each pair being disposed adjacent to the marginal edge of the web and the other flanges being disposed adjacent to the offset portion of the web, the pairs of flanges pro ecting in opposite directions away from the web and all of which flanges occupy planes substantially at right angles to the planes occupied by the offset portions of the web.

In testimony whereof I- hereunto aflix my signature this 14th day of April, 1916.

" FRANK s. BARKS. 7 

